Antimicrobial/antibacterial compositions include materials which have the ability to disinfect. It is generally recognised that a disinfecting material greatly reduces or even eliminates the micro-organisms, e.g., bacteria, existing on a surface. Compositions based on halogen containing compounds like hypochlorite, or on quaternary compounds, have been extensively described in the art for disinfecting purpose. Compositions comprising peroxide bleach are also known as disinfecting compositions.
However, compositions based for example on peroxide bleach as the only antimicrobial compound (typically 7% by weight of the total composition), are not fully efficacious, especially when used upon highly diluted conditions, e.g. at a dilution level of 1:50 (composition:water) to disinfect soiled surfaces, e.g., surfaces which needs both to be washed and disinfected. Indeed, the presence of organic and/or inorganic soils decreases the bactericidal activity of many antimicrobials like peroxygen bleach, resulting thereby in a lower bactericidal activity/disinfection power of compositions comprising them.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide compositions which deliver excellent disinfection on soiled surfaces, especially heavily soiled surfaces, even when used upon highly diluted conditions.
It has now been found that this can be achieved by combining different antimicrobial compounds together, i.e., by combining a peroxygen bleach, an amphoteric surfactant, or a mixture thereof, glutaraldehyde and an antimicrobial essential oil or an active thereof, or mixtures thereof. More particularly, it has been found that a composition comprising said peroxygen bleach, said amphoteric surfactant, said glutaraldehyde and said antimicrobial essential oil or active thereof provides excellent disinfection on soiled surfaces including heavily soiled surfaces, even under highly diluted conditions, i.e., up to a dilution level of said composition to water from 1:100.
An advantage of the present invention is that excellent disinfection is provided under soiled conditions on a broad range of bacterial strains including Gram positive and Gram negative bacterial strains but also more resistant micro-organisms like fungi.
Another advantage of the compositions of the present invention is that beside the disinfection properties delivered, good cleaning performance is also provided.
Also, the compositions according to the present invention are suitable to be used on all types of surfaces including animate surfaces (e.g., human skin and/or mouth when used as an oral preparation or toothpaste) and inanimate surfaces. Indeed, this technology is particularly suitable in hard-surfaces applications as well as in laundry applications, e.g., as a laundry detergent or laundry additive in a so called "soaking mode", "through the wash mode", or even as a laundry pretreater in a "pretreatment mode". More particularly, the compositions according to the present invention are suitable to be used on delicate surfaces including those surfaces in contact with food and/or babies in a safe manner. Indeed, when using the compositions according to the present invention in diluted conditions, the amount of chemical residues left onto a surface disinfected therewith is reduced. Thus, it may be not necessary to rinse for example a hard-surface after the compositions of the present invention have been applied thereto in diluted conditions.
Yet another advantage of the compositions of the present invention is that they may be provided in different forms, e.g., in a liquid form packaged in a conventional detergent bottle, or in a sprayable or foamable form packaged in a spray/foam dispenser, or in the form of wipes incorporating such a composition, or in a non-liquid form.
EP-B-288 689 discloses a liquid for hard-surfaces comprising antimicrobial effective amounts of pine oil and at least one oil soluble organic acid. No other antimicrobial compounds are mentioned, let alone a peroxygen bleach.
EP-241390 discloses that textiles contaminated with bacteria may be disinfected by first treating with a detergent and then with a peroxide bleaching agent in an aqueous bath at pH 9-13 in the presence of non complexed calcium. No other antimicrobial compounds are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,191 discloses that per-compounds such as monopersulfate have bactericide, fungicide and virucide properties. U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,191 discloses that compositions comprising monopersulfate may be used in diluted form to treat hard-surfaces. However, no other antimicrobial compounds are disclosed.
EP-A-667 392 discloses hard-surface cleaning compositions comprising hydrogen peroxide and a surfactant/thickening component comprising alkyl ether sulphate surfactant together with amine oxide or betaine. The compositions therein have a pH of from 7 to 10. No other antimicrobial compounds are disclosed, let alone essential oils or actives thereof, or glutaraldehyde.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,587 discloses aqueous antimicrobial compositions which can be used to clean, sanitise and disinfect hard-surfaces. More particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,587 discloses aqueous compositions (pH 1 to 12) comprising essential oils (0.02% to 5%) which exhibit antimicrobial properties efficacy such as thyme oil, eucalyptus oil, clove oil and the like, and a solubilizing or dispersing agent sufficient to form an aqueous solution or dispersion of said essential oils in a water carrier. Said compositions may further comprise other antimicrobial ingredients like phenolic compounds, quaternary ammonium compounds, however no amphoteric surfactants, or peroxygen bleaches are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,749 discloses compositions for inhibiting the growth of aerobic micro-organisms including bacteria and fungi, said compositions including an oxidant and glutaraldehyde. The oxidants may be selected from the group of chlorine, bromine, monopersulfate, perborate, hydrogen peroxide, peracetic acid, and percarbonate. The oxidant is said to exhibit a synergistic effect when added to glutaraidehyde. No other antimicrobial compounds like essential oils or actives thereof, or amphoteric surfactants are disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,210 discloses aqueous oxygen releasing compositions suitable for a wide range of applications in the industry and household for example as laundry bleaching detergents or as hard-surface cleaners. The germicide and bactericide activity of said compositions make it also suitable for medical application. Said compositions (pH 2 to 10) comprise an active oxygen yielding compound, e.g., hydrogen peroxide (0.1-50%), a betaine or sulfobetaine (0.5-50%) such as cetylbetaine or laurylsulfobetaine and nonionic polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene block copolymer surfactants having a water solubility of at least one gram per 100 ml of water and a molecular weight within the range of 1,000 to 15,000. No other antimicrobial compounds are disclosed let alone essential oils or actives thereof, or glutaraldehyde.
J-60038497 discloses a foam-generating two components detergent composition comprising (a) an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide (0.5%-50%), (b) an alkaline compound containing an alkaline substance having 0.1% to 50% alkalinity expressed in terms of NaOH, like NaOH, KOH, Na2CO3. One of the two components (a) and (b) of said detergent compositions comprises a surfactant, e.g., amphoteric surfactants, and/or at least one compound selected from terpene alcohols, cyclic terpene alcohols and their esters like geraniol. The compositions in J-60038497 are intended to clean soils on hard materials like plastics, joints, and particularly difficult to clean recesses or corners. No glutaraldehyde is disclosed. Also no reference is made to disinfection.